EDITORIAL
Applicability of nursing theories in the everyday work practice
In this century of information and dissemination of knowledge, nursing researchers have been pressured to produce articles and publish them in highly qualified journals. This paper talks about the applicability of theories to the knowledge inherent to this profession, which is related to the care developed with the clients, as well as its effects on the promotion, prevention and recovery of health/well-being.
The notion of the obligation to prove the true scientific character of Brazilian nursing still persists among these researchers. We believe that the fact of working in an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary team leads to the need of highlighting the specific knowledge acquired by nurses to care for people and how new the profession is, in the context of scientificity.
Regarding this century, it is of utmost importance that new theories are added, and one of the ways of unveiling this scientificity is to apply them in the everyday practices of taking care, educating and researching. In this sense, we agree with Brookes,1 when saying that, over the course of 50 years and through theories, the growth and the expansion of knowledge, education and nursing literature were remarkable.
By reading the book Nursing Theorists and Their Work,1 we recognized the relevance of the applicability of the Tidal Model, a theory until then unknown in Brazil, created by Phil Barker and centered on mental health (MH).2 We decided, then, to apply this benchmark in our research, whose focus is the care of people with psychic suffering.
Philosophically, for Barker, the recovery of MH differs from the current treatment of mental disorder. From a specific world view, it assists the understanding of what MH is from the client's perspective, and how to help him/her in his/her recovery, understanding human life in the physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual and social dimensions. This way, professionals and clients work together as members of a ballet company. This means that, in genuine encounters, they start to take care of themselves and not to be taken care of by someone else.
Thus, we consulted the author on the possibility of applying his theory in the development of a protocol (technology) of care appropriate for the Brazilian reality. Satisfied with the promotion of his theory in Brazil, which was already initiated with the publication of the article "Perspectiva estética e sociopoética ao cuidar de pessoas com sofrimento psíquico: apropriação do Tidal Model",3 he replied to us, emphasizing that it was the first publication in Brazil about the Tidal Model. As a result, researchers from other countries, in particular from the Mälardalen University/Sweden, have shown interest in introducing this model in mental health education.
Revista Enfermagem UERJ is proud to have been the vehicle of this pioneering publication, thus fulfilling its role in the dissemination of innovation and in the advancement of knowledge.
Iraci dos Santos
Associate Editor
Leandro Andrade da Silva
Doctoral candidate from PPGENF/UERJ
References
1.Brookes N. The Tidal Model in the mental health recuperation. 7th ed. In: Alligood MR, Tomey AM. Nursing theorists and their work. New York (USA): Elsevier, 2011.
2.Barker PJ, Buchanan-Barker. Mental health nursing and the politics of recovery: a global reflection. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 2011; 25:350-8.
3. Santos I dos, Silva LA, Clos AC, Nascimento AV. Perspectiva estética e sociopoética ao cuidar de pessoas com sofrimento psíquico: apropriação do Tidal Model. Revenferm UERJ. 2014; 22:815-20.